Kimmo KINNUNEN

There is no doubt that Kimmo Kinnunen had the right pedigree to be a champion javelin thrower. His father, Jorma, represented Finland in the javelin at three Olympic Games, and set a world record in 1969. His son Kimmo first came to notice when he finished fifth in the javelin at the World Junior Championships in Athens on 18 July 1986. At the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Kimmo set a new personal best of 80.24m in the qualifying round on 24 September. If he could have reproduced that throw in the final held the next day, he would have finished 7th, but instead he finished 10th with a best of 78.04m. Kimmo improved his personal best to 83.10m in 1989, but in his next major international competition, the 1990 European Championships in Split, he finished only 8th with a best throw of 79.00m.

In 1991, Kinnunen made a major breakthrough, improving his personal best to 85.46m in the early part of the season. But this improvement gave no indication of the performances that Kinnunen would produce at the World Championships at Tokyo later that year. Kimmo produced his first sensation in the qualifying round on 25 August, when he increased his personal best by over three metres to 88.48m, which was the longest throw achieved in the qualifying round. In the final the following day, Kinnunen unleashed a mighty throw of 90.82m on his first attempt, which would eventually remain his career-best distance. Understandably ecstatic, Kinnunen sprinted around the track in celebration (see photo above), and decided to pass his second attempt. Kimmo did take some of his later throws, but in the end it made no difference, as his first throw of 90.82m had been sufficient to safely ensure the gold medal and the title of World Champion. (Ron Casey)

Following his magnificent breakthrough at the 1991 World Championships, where he won the gold medal in the javelin with a career-best throw of 90.82m, there were heightened expectations of what Kimmo Kinnunen could achieve in the future. Kimmo never again came close to the 90.82m throw that he threw in 1991, but it needs to be remembered that this distance was achieved using a javelin with a roughened tail. These javelins were commonly in use internationally between August 1989 and the end of the 1991 season, after which they were banned by the IAAF. Accordingly, not just Kinnunen, but most other athletes, produced much more modest performances in 1992 than they had the previous year.

The major international competition in 1992 was the Olympic Games in Barcelona. In the Olympic final, on 8 August, Kinnunen unfortunately had only one legal throw, of 82.62m, and five fouls. He produced his 82.62m throw in the second round, which at the time placed him third, but Steve Backley (Great Britain) surpassed this distance in round four, and Kimmo finished in fourth place overall. Kinnunen then attempted to successfully defend his world title at the following year's World Championships in Stuttgart. In Stuttgart, Kimmo comfortably qualified on 15 August (see photo above) with a throw of 78.86m, and then in the final the following day, took an early lead with a seasonal best throw of 84.78m. Although Kinnunen was unable to improve on this throw, his lead was eventually overtaken by world-record holder Jan Zelezny (Czechoslovakia), and Kimmo had to be content with the silver medal.

Kinnunen continued to compete for several years after that, and competed at his third Olympic Games, thus emulating the feat of his illustrious father, Jorma, in Atlanta in 1996, where he finished 7th with a throw of 84.02m. (Ron Casey.

ANNUAL PROGRESS.

2002     80.39     Kemi     10 AUG
2001     81.35     Jyväskylä     01 AUG
2000     81.41     Turku     02 AUG
1999     85.96     Seinäjoki     08 AUG (Personal best)
1998     84.23     Lappeenranta     02 AUG
1997     82.48     Soini     27 JUL
1996     85.32     Tampere     20 AUG
1995     82.64     Lapua     23 JUL
1994     79.34     Äänekoski     16 JUN
1993     84.78     Stuttgart      16 AUG
1992     83.42     Lappeenranta     16 AUG
1990     81.46     Lahti     09 AUG
1989     83.10     Ostia     21 SEP
1988     80.24     Seoul (Olympic Stadium)     24 SEP
1987     72.94     Salò     18 JUL